The Book Quiver
Authors/Dai Sijie/Once on a Moonless Night
Once on a Moonless Night
Book profileEnglish (United Kingdom)
Book · 3 editions

Once on a Moonless Night

Translation
Adriana Hunter
Genres
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general · Historical fiction
2009
first published in English
French
original language
3
edition in English
288
pages

A young woman hears the tale of a sacred text, written in an ancient language and inscribed on silk cloth many centuries ago. Puyi, the last emperor and owner of the relic, allegedly tore the silk in pieces with his teeth and threw it from a plane when he was taken by the Japanese to Manchuria. A search for this lost text and its poignant, devastatingly simple message begins... This is a beguiling tale of fables, stories within stories, a young man's desperate search for his father's legacy and a young woman's search for the man she loved. Covering almost a century of China's history, this haunting novel combines mystery, harsh reality and tenderness with astonishing insight.

Editions

3 editions · sort: newest